The top 5 benefits of implementing sustainable venturing challenges

Educators at higher education institutions play a pivotal role in enabling our students to develop the knowledge and skills required to create sustainable change. While teaching the concept, theories and approaches of sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation is integral to equipping our students with knowledge – this isn’t quite enough. Strengthening our students’ impact-entrepreneurial skills by working with companies to tackle their real-world sustainability challenges is the aim of challenge-based learning for sustainable venturing. Incorporating sustainable venturing challenges into your curricula can bring many benefits:

By providing your students the opportunity to co-develop solutions to real-world problems faced by established companies or start-ups, you facilitate their development of 21st century skills such as critical thinking, communication and collaboration. They will also be required to operate outside of their comfort zone which can spur individual growth, for instance in terms of building and developing confidence. Given the student-centred nature of challenge-based learning, your students will learn to take on lots of own responsibility. In this way, you help them better prepare for the complexity of the real world and to acquire the fundamental skills needed for succeeding in today’s workplace. In essence, you contribute to increasing your students’ professional development and employability.

Establishing new teaching and learning formats, in which practice and theory feed each other and which are aligned with the real world, can challenge you in your development as academic leader. This is because in comparison to more traditional teaching approaches, challenge-based teaching requires you to take on further functions and tasks. For instance, it includes collaboration with external corporate partners as well as academic staff from other departments and universities. It also comprises moving from a mere teacher role to that of co-developer, organiser and facilitator, to name a few. This presents an exciting opportunity for professional growth and development as you advance the educational quality and variety of your courses.

Supporting your students in cultivating impact entrepreneurial thinking and action through challenge-based learning will inevitably help you maintain, grow and leverage your professional network. It will allow you to discover and connect to other committed academic staff who are interested in jointly shaping a sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem through fostering university-business collaboration. You will also be able to form strategic business partnerships and build a network of business partners with whom you can mobilise sustainable innovation through co-creation of knowledge and sharing of resources.

Be at the forefront of promoting pedagogical innovation at your university department. Inspire your colleagues to take up challenge-based learning approaches to complement more traditional teaching and learning models. This will also provide you with a unique teaching profile that sets you apart and increases your attractiveness for prospective students and corporate partners alike.